Toilet flushing device



May 23, 1950 H. E. FULTON TOILET FLUSHING DEVICE Filed Oct. 31, 1945 INV EN TOR. 2y '2. mm

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Patented May 23, 1950 'IZOILET'FLUSHING DEVICE.

Harry E; Fulton, Bernardsville; N2 J: Applicationfictober. 31, 1945,Serial No. 625;{719T S-CIaims'. (Cl. 457')' the construction oftheguide" bracketv and to? modify the-construction of thevalve'stem sothat it cooperates'ina novel manner'with the guide bracket to'the' endof'compelli'ng; a true" vertical non-wobblin'g movement, of'the valvetoward and from its seat:

A further object" ofthei'nvention is to provide a' novel'formofguide-hrack'et having'a double or twofoldiguidecooperation with the;valve stem to assurethe true rectilinear movement, of the valve:

A still further oBject of the" invention is to providean-improved formofcollar which suspends the gu-idehracket from the overfiow pipeto'promotestreng'th and economy of construction and'which' willcooperate in a-novelmanner with parts carried by-the'guide bracketwhereby there is a mutual adjustment of the=collar angularly about theoverflow pipe and" of the bracket angul'arly about itspoint ofconnection and supportwith the collararms: all to the end that theguideway of the=bracket in which the valvestemslides may be mad t'oas'sumeer closely correct position over theoutlet valve seat; thuscausing the rubber outlet valve to rise and' fall in a correct verticalline accurately coincident with itsseat; in this wayavoiding leakagewhen closed:

With? the foregoing and other" objects in view. the invention willbemore fully described herematter, and will he moreparticularly pointedout in. the claims appended hereto.

In. the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or" correspondingparts; throughout" the several views;

Figural isa; perspective view 'of'atoilet flushing device construct-eclin accordance with the pres-- ent invention" with"- the rubber" outletvalve shown in section and the liit rod broken away. e 2 is aperspective view'of'the improved taken fromthe rear face thereof;

Figure. 3S isa front elevation of the improved device with parts brokenawayand: parts shown inzsectiom Figure 4 is a' rear elevationpf' theimproved device with parts; broken away and parts shown in section:

Figure 5 is a side-"elevation01: the overflow pipe; and outlet to thebowl' andiwitlr the improved device shown'in' end elevatiorr with partsbroken away and parts shown insection:

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectiomtaken' along the line 6-6-ofFi'gure 3":

Referring more" particularly" tothe drawings 10 designates theconventionaloverflow pipe found in the standard fi'ushing device and His the outlet tothe bowl? The" ordinary' rubber valve i2 is carried'bytheusual valve stem 13 except that'this valve stem is' somewhatmodified at its'upper endashereinafter described'in order to cooperatein a; novel manner with the improved'form of 'bracliet' and with-thelower end of the lift rod l4. This lift rod' is connected with therotary handle on the exterior" of the flush tank for the operation of"the device in flushing the toil'etbowl all aswill be well understoodbythose skilled in this art.

A collar [5 usually surrounds the overflow pipe Ifl' and is" clampedthereto for the purpose of supporting a t'ype'ofbracket in which thevalve stem l 3 base sliding movement'; The old form of collar may beretainedif desired and employed in conjunction withthe-presentinvention; or a; new collar l5 according to the invention mayhe clamped about the-overflowpipe Illby means of'a bolt I8 passingthrougli ears I6 and ITone of which I6" may: be threaded to engage thethreads of the bolt'wliilethe' perforation of theother ear isplaint'o'reeeive an=unthreadedportion of such bolt l8 i One of the ears I1 iselongated into an armhaving" a rolled sleeve i9 thereon.

This sleeve was adapted "to support-the bracket and for this purposeengages about the plainunthreaded' shank- 20 of'a screwbolt; the head 21of which is shown a's' wider thanthe plain un threaded perforationthrough anppperlug 22 of'th'e-bracket; The lowering 23 of the-bracket isprovided with a threaded hole 24 to-take the Thebracket isadvantageously formed of a piece of'slieet metal of appropriate gaugeconstituting the bracket" plate 21 forming the rear" wall ofthe'bra'cket; At one edge of this rear wall the metal stock isbentforwardly to provide a side wall 28 and-thence rearwardl'y upon itselfto form a front" wall 29 lying substantial parallelism withaportion ofthe rear wall 21';

From the front wall the material is bent at substantially right anglestoward and substantially to the rear wall 21 to constitute a second sidewall 30 in substantial parallelism with the first mentioned side wall28. This arrangement of walls 21, 28, 29 and 30 forms a substantiallyrectangular guideway into which is received the upper portion of thevalve stem I3 against the side wall 28 thereof. The front wall 29 andthe rear wall 21 are provided with registering vertically elongatedslots 3I and 32 to receive therethrough the angled end 33 of the liftrod Hi. This angled end 33 engages beneath a curved cross bar 35 of thevalve stem formed by returning the upper end 34 of such valve stem l3 ina substantially U-shaped open loop with the major length of the valvestem I3 in guided engagement with the side wall 28 of the guideway andwith the returned end 34 in similar engagement with the opposite wall30.

The guideway or rectangular box formed by the walls 21, 28, 29 and 3Bterminates short of the lower edge of the bracket plate 2'! and short ofthe free side edge of the plate 27. Below the guideway box or enclosurea lateral extension of the plate 21 is rolled over into a guide sleeve36 for snugly yet slidably receiving the valve stem I3 at a point belowthe guide box.

In Figures 1 and 6 is shown the improved form of collar according to thepresent invention. In Figures 3, 4 and 5 an old form of collar withbifurcated arm is illustrated.

In the use of the device either the bifurcated arm or the sleeve is isengaged by bolt 2! The bolt 20 is screwed down into lug 23 and until itshead 2! abuts against the upper surface of the top lug 22. Assuming thatthe collar I5 is tight on the overflow pipe ID, the bracket is droppeddown until the top lug 22 rests upon the bifurcated collar arm or uponthe sleeve I 9. Thereupon a lock nut 26 is rotated in a direction toraise the same upwardly against the lower end of the bifurcated arm oragainstthe lower end of the sleeve I9.

The collar I5 may be rotated or adjusted angularly about the overflowpipe- ID by loosening the bolt i8 and subsequently tightening the sameafter the adjustment has been eflected to bring the bifurcated arm orthe sleeve H] to a correct angular position for holding the bracketaccurately above the valve seat of the outlet II. A second adjustment isprovided by means of the bolt 20 which enables the bracket to be rotatedabout the vertical axis of this bolt 20 in order to bring the bracket toa correct position over the valve seat of outlet II. When this positionis arrived at the lock nut 26 is tightened upwardly against the collararm or sleeve I9.

The above two adjustments are for the purpose of bringing the guidesleeve 36 and the end Wall 28 of the guide box into such accuratealignment with the center of the valve seat I I that the rubber valve I2will be guided faithfully in alignment with this valve seat so as toclose accurately thereagainst.

In this the returned end 34 of the valve stem assists as it engages andslides up and down in contact with the opposite end wall 30 of the guidebox. Thus at the upper end of the guide stem I 3 there are two opposedmembers of the stem engaging the two opposed walls 28 and 30 of theguide box. This will prevent any lateral or horizontal incidentalmovement of the guide stem I3 at least at its upper end. Thisarrangement in combination with the elongated contact of the mainportion of the valve stem I3 with the side wall 28 will further reduceincidental lateral or horizontal movement in the valve stem such aswould tend to inaccurately seat the valve l2. The two factors abovementioned for resisting incidental vibration or lateral movement of thevalve stem I3 are further supplemented and reinfor-ced by the guidesleeve 36 which confines the valve stem I3 in all circumferentialdirections which is spaced below the returned end 34 and which hassubstantial axial length of its own so as to resist therein and incombination with the other factors any such incidental lateral motion.With such a true guide arrangement for the valve stem l3 it becomeshighly necessary to provide ample and correct adjustment for bringingthis valve stem l3 into the vertical center line of the valve seat II tosecure accurate seating of the valve I2 at all times and this accurateadjustment is provided by the conjoint angular movement of collar I5about overflow pipe I 0 and of the concomitant angular adjustment of thebracket 27 about the vertical axis of the screw bolt 20.

The operation of the device proceeds in a manner which will be wellunderstood. With the valve I2 seated as shown in Figure 5, the lift rodI4 is lifted when the external handle on the flush tank is rotated. Theangled end 33 thus rides up in slots 3| and 32 and lifts the curvedcross bar 35 therewith, thus unseating and raising the valve l2;whereupon the handle being released, the lift rod I4 will drop back toinitial position without interfering with the future operation of thevalve i2 and its Valve stem I3. As the water lever falls the valve I2will return downwardly and will automatically seat upon II when thewater is substantially evacuated. In its raising and lowering movementsthe valve stem I3 and incidentally the valve I2 will be guided in a truevertical rectilinear path. The seating of the valve I2 will therefore beat all times accurate. Moreover the construction and arrangement is suchthat the angled end 33 of the lift rod will have no effect in any of itslateral swinging movements to cause jamming of the valve stem I3 for thereason that this valve stem is guided at so many points against justsuch lateral or horizontal movements.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in thedetails of construction and design of the above specifically describedembodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof,such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of thefollowing claims:

What is claimed is:

1. For use with a toilet flushing device having a support, an outletvalve and valve stem, and a lift rod, an improved guide bracket for thevalve stem carried by the support and having an enclosed box forreceiving the valve stem in contacting guiding arrangement at one sidewall, said valve stem having a returned portion engag ing and slidingupon an opposite side wall of the enclosed box, and means constructedand arranged to restrain said valve stem from lateral movement in adirection angularly to a plane connecting said walls, said meanscomprising a guide sleeve on the bracket through which the valve stemreciprocates.

2. For use in a toilet flushing device having a support, an outlet valveand valve stem and a lift device, an improved guide bracket carried bysaid support and having an enclosed guide box with one wall disposed incontact with the vertically moving valve stem, said valve stem having areturned portion in vertically sliding engagement with an opposite wallof said guide box, said valve stem having a cross bar connecting thesame with the returned end, said guide box having a slot to receive anend of the lift device for engaging said cross bar, and means by whichthe valve stem is restrained from lateral movement in response to anoff-center force exerted by a pull on the lift device.

3. An improved bracket as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the factthat the guide sleeve is rolled from an edge of the bracket below theguide box and is positioned to slidably and snugly receive therethroughthe valve stem.

4. An improved bracket as claimed in claim 1 characterized by the factthat said enclosed box is formed from a sheet metal plate having itsmajor portion arranged to provide a rear wall and with an extension ofthe sheet metal overturned upon itself to form the enclosed box withsaid side walls and with a rear wall formed by said plate and a frontwall, said plate having a further lateral extension rolled over to formsaid guide sleeve about the valve stem having its opening in alignmentwith the vertical space adjacent the first mentioned side wall of thebox against which the major portion of the valve stem engages.

' 5. A bracket as claimed in claim 1 in which spaced lugs project fromthe bracket, a fastening element engaging said lugs, and a supportingarm iffor the bracket having a part engaging about said fasteningelement.

6. In a flushing device for toilets having an overflow pipe arrangedclose to the valve seat of an outlet controlled by a valve having anupstanding valve stem, the combination of a collar angularly movableabout said overflow pipe, means to clamp said collar to said pipe, asupporting arm on the collar, a sleeve on said supporting arm, a guidebracket having a guideway for said valve stem and also having a part forresting on said sleeve, and having a second part extending under thesleeve and having a threaded opening therethrough, and a bolt slidablethrough the first mentioned part and through said sleeve and threadedinto the opening in said second part and a lock nut on said threadedbolt to abut the lower portion of said sleeve.

7. An improved bracket for use in a flushing device for toilets incooperation with a supporting arm comprising a rear wide plate havinglugs cut and bent therefrom with a plain hole in one lug and a threadedhole in the other, a bolt passing through the unthreaded lug with a headto confine the same and having a threaded portion to engage in thethreaded hole after passing through such supporting arm, a lock nut onthe bolt to lock the arm against the upper lug, a guide box on the frontof the plate for the valve stem of the flushing apparatus, and a guidesleeve also on the front of the plate oifset laterally from the centerof the guide box for receiving the valve stem.

8. For use with a toilet flushing device having a support, an outletvalve and valve stem, and a lift rod, an improved guide bracket for thevalve stem carried by the support and having an enclosed box forreceiving the valve stem in contacting guiding arrangement at one sidewall, said valve stem having a returned portion engaging and slidingupon an opposite side wall of the enclosed box, said box composed ofsheet material arranged to form a rear wall with said side walls and afront wall bent therefrom and with the free edge of the last mentionedside wall engaging said rear wall and with the enclosed space of the boxopen at its top and bottom, said front and rear walls having slotstherein to receive the lift rod.

HARRY E. FULTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,803,603 Dodson May 5, 19312,016,840 Schubert Oct. 8, 1935 2,098,687 Kinsfather Nov. 9, 19372,217,320 Romaine Oct. 8, 1940

